Energy from Toxic Organic Waste for Heat and Power Generation

Debabrata Barik

• Publisher: Woodhead Publishing
• Year: 2018
• ISBN:
  9780081025291
• Topic: Scienze fisiche
• Subtopic: Energia

Energy from Toxic Organic Waste for Heat and Power Generation presents a detailed analysis on using scientific methods to recover and reuse energy from Toxic waste. Dr. Barik and his team of expert authors recognize that there has been a growing rise in the quantum and diversity of toxic waste materials produced by human activity, and as such there is an increasing need to adopt new methods for the safe regeneration and minimization of waste produce around the world. It is predominately broken down into 5 sections:

• The first section provides and overview on the Toxic waste generation addressing the main components for the imbalance in ecosystem derived from human activity
• The second section sets out ways in which toxic waste can be managed through various methods such as chemical treatment, cracking and Electro-beam treatment
• The final 3 sections deliver an insight in to how energy can be extracted and recycled into power from waste energy and the challenges that these may offer

This book is essential reference for engineering industry workers and students seeking to adopt new techniques for reducing toxic waste and in turn extracting energy from it whilst complying with pollution control standards from across the world.

• Presents techniques which can be adopted to reduce toxic organic waste while complying with regulations and extract useable energy it
• Includes case studies of various global industries such as nuclear, medical and research laboratories to further enhance the readers understanding of efficient planning, toxic organic waste reduction methods and energy conversion techniques
• Analyses methods of extracting and recycling energy from toxic organic waste products

Chapter 1

Introduction to Energy From Toxic Organic Waste For Heat and Power Generation

Debabrata Barik    Department of Mechanical Engineering, Karpagam Academy of Higher Education, Coimbatore, India

There are few things that are certain in life; one is death, second is change, and the other is a waste. No one can stop these things taking place in life. But, with improved management, it can be possible to reduce the waste. Everyone has a right to clean air, water, food, and environment. This right can be fulfilled by maintaining a clear and healthy ecosystem. Now, as a first question, what is waste? Anything which is not needed by the owner, producer, or processor is waste. Generally, waste is defined as at the end of the product life cycle and is disposed of in landfills. Most businesses define waste as “anything that does not create value.” In a common man’s eye, anything that is unwanted or not useful is garbage or waste. However, scientifically speaking, there is no waste as such in the world. Almost all the components of waste have some potential, if it is converted or treated in a scientific manner. Hence, we can define waste as organic or inorganic waste materials produced out of household, commercial activities, and industries that have lost their value in the eyes of the first owner, but which may be of great value to somebody else. Generation of waste is unavoidable in every habitation howsoever big or small. Since the dawn of civilization, humanity has gradually deviated from nature and today there has been a drastic change in the lifestyle of human society. A direct reflection of this change is noticed in the nature and the quantity of garbage that a civilized community generates. The waste can be disposed properly or can be reused to make money through proper management for the economic and environmental growth of individual and society.

Many countries which are fast competing with global economies in their drive for faster economic development have so far failed to effectively manage the huge quantity of waste generated. There are 195 countries in the world today and approximately 2.5 million cities including small towns. About 80% of the world’s total population live in urban areas as per 2018 survey. Urbanization combined with the overall growth of the world’s population could add another 2.5 billion people to urban populations by 2050. The quantum of waste generated in the towns and cities are increasing day by day on account of its increasing population and increased GDP. Population explosion, coupled with improved lifestyle of people, results in increased generation of toxic wastes in urban as well as rural areas. However, due to ever increasing urbanization, fast adoption of use and throw concept, and equally fast communication between urban and rural areas, the gap between the two is diminishing. The waste from rural areas is more of a biodegradable nature and the same from urban areas contains more nonbiodegradable components like plastics and packaging. The objectionable attitude toward waste and its management is, however, common in both the sectors. Universally, “making garbage out of sight” is the commonly followed practice. Generally, in urban areas, local bodies, popularly known as the municipal corporations/councils, are responsible for the management of activities of wastes concern to public health. However, in the present era, with increasing public awareness as well as new possibilities for economic growth, waste management started to receive due attention. Various initiatives have been taken by government, NGOs, private companies, and local public in the past few decades to aware the public to understand the harmful effect of waste and its proper disposal methodologies based on organic, inorganic, hazardous, and nonhazardous nature.

The waste can be classified as solid waste originating from vegetable waste, kitchen waste, household, etc.; e-waste originate from discarded electronic devices such as computer, television, music systems, etc.; liquid waste from water used for different industries, tanneries, distilleries, thermal power plants, plastic waste from plastic bags, bottles, bucket, etc.; metal waste from unused metal sheet, metal scraps, etc.; and nuclear waste from unused materials from nuclear power plants. Further, all these wastes can be grouped into wet waste (i.e., biodegradable) and dry waste (i.e., nonbiodegradable). The biodegradable wastes are kitchen waste including food waste of all kinds—cooked and uncooked, including the eggshells and bones, flower and fruit waste, including juice peels and house plant waste, garden sweeping or yard waste consisting of green/dry leaves, sanitary wastes, green waste from vegetable and fruit vendors/shops, waste from food and tea stalls/shops, etc. Similarly, nonbiodegradable wastes are paper and plastic of all kinds, cardboard and cartons, containers of all kinds excluding those containing hazardous material, packaging of all kinds, glass of all kinds, metals of all kinds, rags, rubber, house sweeping (dust etc.), ashes, foils, wrappings, pouches, sachets and tetra packs (rinsed), discarded electronic items from offices, colonies viz. cassettes, computer diskettes, printer cartridges and electronic parts, discarded clothing, furniture, and other unused equipments.

The United States Environmental Protection Agency (US EPA) incorporates hazardous waste into three categories. The first category is source-specific wastes, the second category is nonspecific wastes, and third, commercial chemical products. Generally, hazardous waste is waste that is dangerous or potentially harmful to health and the environment. Hazardous wastes can be liquids, solids, gases, or sludge. They can be discarded commercial products, like cleaning fluids or pesticides, or the by-products of manufacturing processes. Similarly, the nonhazardous waste is defined by the Department of Defense (DOD) and the EPA as the extravagant, careless, or needless expenditure of DOD funds or the consumption of DOD property that results from deficient practices, systems, controls, or decisions. In addition, abuse is the manner in which resources or programs are managed that creates or perpetuates waste and it includes improper practices not involving prosecutable fraud. The EPA defines solid nonhazardous waste as any garbage or refuse, sludge from a wastewater treatment plant, water supply treatment plant, or air pollution control facility and other discarded material, including solid, liquid, semisolid, or contained gaseous material resulting from industrial, commercial, mining, and agricultural operations, and from community activities. The definition of nonhazardous waste can also include financial waste. In 2009, the US Presidential Executive Order, Reducing Improper Payments and Eliminating Waste in Federal Programs was initiated to eliminate payment error, waste, fraud, and abuse in major Federal government programs due to public zero tolerance of fraud, waste, and abuse. This Executive Order is based upon a transparent, participatory, and collaborative, comprehensive framework between the government and public.

There are common practices to dispose waste from ordinary people. But, disposal of waste is becoming a serious and vexing problem for any human habitation all over the world. Disposing solid waste out of sight does not solve the problem, but indirectly increases the same manifold and at a certain point it goes beyond the control of everybody. The consequences of this practice such as health hazards, pollution of soil, water, air, and food, unpleasant surroundings, loss of precious resources that could be obtained from the solid waste, etc. are well-known. That is why it is essential to focus on proper management of waste all over the world. Waste management has become a subject of concern globally and nationally. The more advanced the human settlements, the more complex the waste management. There is a continuous search for wide-ranging solutions for this problem, but it is increasingly realized that solutions based on technological advances without human intervention cannot sustain for long and this, in turn, results in complicating the matters further. Management of waste which generally involves proper segregation and scientific recycling of all the components is in fact the ideal way of dealing with toxic waste. Waste management is a commonly used name and defined as the application of techniques to ensure an orderly execution of the various functions of collection, transport, processing, treatment, and disposal of waste. It has developed from its early beginnings of mere dumping to a sophisticated range of options including reuse, recycle, incineration with energy recovery, advanced landfill design and engineering, and a range of alternative technologies. It aims at an overall waste management system which would be the best environmentally and economically sustainable for a socially acceptable method. This not only would avoid the above referred consequences, but give economic or monetary returns in some or the other forms.

Nonetheless, land filling is still the dominant waste management option for the United States as well as many other countries around the world. Landfill releases biogas by the decomposition of garbage. Biogas is composed of methane and carbon dioxide. Methane is a by-product of the anaerobic digestion of waste by the bacterial community, and these bacteria thrive in landfills with high amounts of moisture. Methane concentrations can reach up to 50% of the composition of landfill gas at maximum anaerobic decomposition. In developing countries, few landfills have the facility for methane recovery as the required capital for methane recovery installations is lacking. The methane gas seeps into porous soil surrounding the waste and eventually migrates into basements, posing an explosion risk. Carbon dioxide buildup may cause asphyxiation. Carbon dioxide is readily absorbed for use in photosynthesis, but methane is less easily broken down and is considered 20 times more potent as a greenhouse gas. For every metric ton of unsorted waste (containing 0.3 Mt. carbon), 0.2 Mt. are converted to landfill gasses. Of this gas, carbon dioxide and methane each comprises 0.09 Mt. It is believed that landfill gasses supply 50% of human-caused methane emissions and 2%–4% of all worldwide greenhouse gasses; this is clearly an area of concern in global environmental issues. The capture of methane from landfill gas (biogas) and its filtration by adopting either cryogenic separation, membrane separation, or chemical separation may lead to energy extraction, and this methane gas can be used as a substitute for CNG and LPG for heat and power generation.

Biogas and the renewable energy production from waste are labor- intensive and can provide employment to people. The additional employment will, however, vary with trends in the labor markets of the countries. The jobs created thereby may be low value jobs, but in periods of high unemployment the positive job creation will be viewed with less skepticism. These options suit the developing countries as most of them have a large work force. On the other hand, if the community is involved in the renewable energy generation, then the workers can be drawn from the community where the project serves. This can improve the income distribution among the rural population and different income brackets. A significant population shifting to urban centers, one of the typical issues the developing countries had to tackle in the past few years, can be reduced. This removes the additional burden on the resources at the urban centers. In the case of biogas use for heat and power application, the conventional fuels can be conserved for future. The employment effects of renewable energy projects can be such as the direct employment in construction, operation, and maintenance; indirect employment of job creation in the supply chain supporting the projects; and induced employment created, because of the wages earned through direct and indirect employment spent on goods and services, thus creating jobs.

It is well-known that waste management policies, as they exist now, are not sustainable for the long term. Thus, waste management is undergoing drastic change to offer more options toward more sustainability. These options give the hope of offering the waste management industry a more economically viable and socially acceptable solution to the current waste management dilemma.

This book outlines various advances in the area of waste management and possibilities to extract energy from the wastes in different forms. This book also focuses on current practices related to waste management initiatives taken by many countries, and it also highlights some initiatives taken by the US federal government, states, and industry groups. The main objective of this book is to depict the adoption of the waste management strategies, which may give certain benefits to the mankind in the form of economic sustainability and clean environment. The toxic wastes generated from various sources such as municipal, food processing industries, textile industries, leather industries, biodiesel production industries, paper industries, and health care industries, or hospital waste are given attention and broadly discussed with its suitable disposal methodologies and possibilities of useful energy extraction from it. Also, this book deals with the advanced approaches adopted for the treatment of hazardous waste and its molecular cracking for non-contamination to the environment. In addition, this book gives in-depth knowledge on heat and electricity generation from the wastes. The effects of techno-economic aspects of toxic waste management were discussed in this book.

Chapter 2

Toxic Waste From Municipality

Aravind Sam; Debabrata Barik Department of Mechanical Engineering, Karpagam Academy of Higher Education, Coimbatore, India

Abstract

Waste to energy is a core area which needs special focus. Since the waste generation level is much higher in the global level, the main aspect is of converting the municipal solid wastes into energy. There are many practices followed all over the world for managing the wastes. It includes recycling, composting, land filling, and energy recovery. This chapter highly focused on how to recover energy from the municipal solid wastes. There are several practices followed to extract the energy from the waste. They are like thermal conversion, biochemical conversion, and chemical conversion. In this article, thermal conversion processes like incineration, pyrolysis, and gasification techniques are discussed. Apart from that, a brief insight over the biochemical conversion is also considered. Out of these energy recovery methods, each has its own merits and demerits. And researches are being done on improving the process capabilities of the above cited methods; every way of utilizing the waste for sustainable development of the world and to save the world from depletion of its wonders. The method discussed reducing the municipal solid waste quantity in a considerable range. Still, the nations have to put much effort in reducing the wastes by improving these methods.

Keywords

Biochemical conversion; Energy recovery; Municipal solid waste; Thermal conversion; Waste to energy

2.1 Introduction

In general, anything which is not useful anymore are collectively given the name as wastes or garbage. The wastes are of different forms and are increasing at higher rate day by day due to the development of the world. The waste generation also depends on the population level of the region under consideration. The level of waste generated is higher even in low-populated regions due to the lack of waste management systems. The wastes are generated from all sorts of places, starting from residential, commercial, industrial, agricultural, institutional places, etc.; the wastes from such places are given names accordingly and each waste has its own characteristics. Their behavior in the environment also varies with the nature of its composition and based on what those wastes are made up of. Hence, it requires a proper understanding of wastes that are handled. In common practice, wastes are handled by the municipality of each region. Their work is to collect a...

Table of contents

• Cover image
• Title page
• Table of Contents
• Copyright
• Contributors
• Chapter 1: Introduction to Energy From Toxic Organic Waste For Heat and Power Generation
• Chapter 2: Toxic Waste From Municipality
• Chapter 3: Energy Extraction From Toxic Waste Originating From Food Processing Industries
• Chapter 4: Toxic Waste From Textile Industries
• Chapter 5: Toxic Waste From Leather Industries
• Chapter 6: Toxic Waste From Biodiesel Production Industries and Its Utilization
• Chapter 7: Paper Industry Wastes and Energy Generation From Wastes
• Chapter 8: Health Hazards of Medical Waste and its Disposal
• Chapter 9: Hazardous Waste and Its Treatment Process
• Chapter 10: Cracking of Toxic Waste
• Chapter 11: Power Generation From Renewable Energy Sources Derived From Biodiesel and Low Energy Content Producer Gas for Rural Electrification
• Chapter 12: Economic Factors for Toxic Waste Management
• Chapter 13: Comprehensive Remark on Waste to Energy and Waste Disposal Problems
• Index